Morse Museum of American Art, 2

Continuing our visit to the Morse Museum in Winter Park...

Name your decorative art genre, Tiffany probably did it

How much of the collection got here: a fire at the Tiffany
estate in Long Island, long after Tiffany's death...Florida enthusiasts
and collectors to the rescue...one of the great stories of art
recovery and restoration...

Recreation from the estate

Not least, a beautiful ceiling

Vicki shooting the clocks: day of the week, time, date...perfect for retirees

He painted too

Tiffany rain chains

Among the historical exhibits...Tiffany fit right in with
the Art Nouveau, as promoted by Siegfried Bing's L'Art Nouveau
shoppe in Paris; Paris 1900 was the greatest gathering of art
in its time 

A beautiful rest area, fronting the museum's large central
atrium

Rebuilt intact, the great chapel from the 1893 Columbian
Exposition in Chicago; used for a time in the crypt of St.
John the Divine (Anglican) Cathedral, where, last fall, we
read of it and learned of the Morse Museum...

Exiting through the exceptional gift shoppe

 

Morse Museum Of American Art, 1

If you care about art, American art, and Tiffany in particular, a real gem awaits you in Winter Park, one of Orlando's older and more interesting neighborhoods. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art is one of the best "smaller" museum we have visited in the past 20 years of international museum-going. It is by no means small, in terms of square footage, but merely narrow in its focus on American art and particularly that of Louis Comfort Tiffany. We have seen our share of fine glass in the past several years--in Paris, Nancy, London, New York--the Morse can hold its own with those places and institutions. It has even donated some of its collection to the Met. Vicki gives it her highest praise, allowing that it is worth taking a day away from Disney. Plus, entry is just $5. The Morse has a fine website, with better descriptions and appraisals than I can offer. So I'll mostly let the pix speak for themselves.

Unpretentious entry

Glories within

Initially, mostly the stained glass masterpieces

But then, much more...an education in Tiffany's many innovations
in materials and techniques

Lamps too, but by no means as great a collection as what we saw at
the New York Historical

Some of our favorite Wisterias, however

Architectural And Other Wonders Of Orlando

With the New Year came Vicki's sister Marie for a week's visit, particularly beneficial for her knowledge of the area: she was a resident in nearby St. Cloud for some years before moving to Knoxville. We undertook a number of excursions to see the sights. 

Some vintage mid-century Florida architecture, Orange World; most
of these tourist traps have failed and the buildings have been abandoned...
but not Orange World...

Our visit to downtown Orlando began as a bus ride, the main purpose
of which was to get our senior citizen discount bus passes at the terminal;
from there we walked to the Lake 

Lots of Deco Echo to look at

Also some arguably real if modest Art Deco 

Orange County; originally, Mosquito County, Marie said

The Catholic cathedral

Actual tympanum on one of the non-Catholic churches

Greek Orthodox

Appropriate frowny-faced Pantokrator

Truly profound juxtaposition of religious symbols

City Christmas tree (no oranges)

On the shore of Lake Eola, Orlando's downtown lake

Birds

Even more (dirty, disgusting, filthy, lice-ridden) birds

The flying saucer that crashed here in 1948 (parts of the superstructure
are now at Space Mountain)

More Deco Echo, The Paramount on Lake Eola, with
a welcome Publix; the farthest extent of our walk;
built 2008

Egyptian Deco Echo?

Found nearby

More Echo

More Deco; but enough for us